I have a similar whine in my 2014 Ecoboost Fiesta, mainly in hotter weather and when accelerating. According to others on here it could be an alternator issue, the fault is so intermittent that when I took it to the garage they found nothing. However, on longer trips it can sometimes be heard especially with the aircon on. As for gears Itend to find if the car has not been used for a while then 3rd gear is a little stiffer to get into, but that could just be me.

Thanks for the tips. It seems more whiney now that the temperature here is about 23-26 degrees most days. The car is two years old and has done about 15km so slightly less than 10k miles. It's really used for sort commutes so around 20-30 miles per days kind of thing. Although I do plan to take it on a mini European tour soon, so I'd rather not have any issues.

Here in mainland Europe the weather has suddenly got quite nice so the aircon is on in the car quite a lot. Anyway, I have noticed that again (like last year) there is a high pitched whine that sets in when driving. I went to the dealer last year about this but when they tested it of course there was nothing... Has anyone else had similar problems? I gather it is related to the alternator.

I had a similar sudden loss of power today but with a 2014 Ecoboost (so a different model). It does not happen very often but usually at places where I do need a sudden burst of energy, e.g. while waiting at a roundabout. Basically this morning foot down (senibly), revs, engaged clutch then no power so car went forward about 1 meter into the roundabout then cut out. Even when I put the foot to the floor absolutely nothing. I lifted my foot off and tried again and there was power - thankfully. Has anyone else had similar issues?

I have had occasional gearbox/clutch issues as well. A hill start (in reverse recently) caused some interesting noises. In the past the gears have often become quite odd when changing from to third, the usual smooth action not being the case and sometimes nearly ending up in 1st. These issues mostly (although not always) seem to occur if I have not used the car for a few weeks due to being away for work.

I'd stay away from Firestone, I was given them as the last place I was at was out of stock of many other brands. They really lowered the general ride quality and fuel consumption levels plus are noisier.

Yes the 100PS is great fun, I also love it. A few things to note though:
- Tyres: these can radically change the fuel consumption, noise and comfort! By law I have to put on winter tyres and these really degraded certain aspects of the car. My summer tyres are going on in the next week or so! I would ask for advice for the best replacements when that time comes.
- Fuel consumption is not as good as claimed (no surprise) for anything other than motorway driving. On the motorway though it's great, once I sit on a steady 120/130kph (depending on the country) the economy is pretty impressive. I have been able to do some pretty lengthy trips through France and Switzerland on a relatively tiny fuel budget.
- Gears a bit weird, especially if you leave it sitting for a couple of weeks (I often have to). I also had a couple of issues with suddenly losing power whilst setting off in first recently but that could just have been me.
In general this is a great value, fun to drive little car. I find myself just wanting to take it out for random spins.
Enjoy!

Sorry if my comment is not of much use. I personally have not used the service but I know of others who have. Basically the quality of service varies on the underlying contractor(s) in each country. Ford I gather are pretty responsive but after that well its the lap of the Gods. Here in Luxembourg and in other surrounding countries I have so far not heard anything bad, so that is Southern Belgium, parts of Eastern France and the Western parts of "mid Germany*.

Hi Kateysan,k
I've had a 1.0 Ecoboost (100bhp) for just under two years now. In general it has more than enough power, even for over taking on motorways. Although on the German autobahn (without speed limits) it can feel a bit weak in comparison to other cars so I am often more conservative when overtaking there. I really enjoy driving it, the fuel efficiency (as discussed elsewhere) is not as claimed and so far no problems at all. They are great value for money and fun to drive. If you can get a 12t6bhp go for it as the extra kick, but the 100bhp is more than adequate.

I am not sure what the temperature is the UK but here we were about -3 to -8c recently, when you add in windchill I was warned it would often feel like -15c. It's worth keeping in mind that tires also have an impact. I now have winter tires on (it's the law) and not only do they decrease ride quality but also worsen fuel consumption. It may be possible to offset some of the drop by driving in higher gears (so being more eco-friendly) as I read this also is advised when icy - so it has safety benefit as well.

I seem to be down by about 0,6L per 100KM, which is the measure here. So around 8-10%, I spend a lot of time in and out of traffic jams so the mpg l/100km is never anywhere near the claims. I will test it on the open road when the weather improves.